Bluegrass Poll: Kentuckians weigh in on President, issues

Posted: Mon 5:00 PM, Jul 28, 2014&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Mon 7:02 PM, Jul 28, 2014

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A new Bluegrass Poll gives a report card for President Obama, reveals Kentucky's view on which party should control the U.S. Senate, and gauges the state's view on the recent Supreme Court ruling over health-care benefits regarding contraceptives.

President Barack Obama didn't carry Kentucky in either of his elections and remains just as unpopular among voters in the state, according to the poll conducted for WKYT-TV, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and WHAS-TV.

The poll found 55 percent of Kentuckians have an unfavorable opinion of the President. Just one in four of those polled say they favorable opinion of the commander-in-chief.

"Six years on the national stage have done nothing to improve Obama's standing in Kentucky," said WKYT political editor Bill Bryant. "He does find stronger support in Louisville and Lexington."

As Americans head toward the mid-term elections in November, control for the U.S. Senate will be determined. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is in a tight battle with Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Forty-eight percent of those polled said they think Republicans would do a better job if it was in control of the Senate. Forty percent thoughts Democrats would do the best job.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the new health law requirement that they cover contraceptives for women. The justices' 5-4 decision was the first time that the high court ruled that profit-seeking businesses can hold religious views under federal law.

Conducted a month after the ruling, the Bluegrass Poll found 46 percent of Kentuckians agreed with the court's ruling while 40 percent disagreed.

When asked whether they were more likely to vote for a candidate who wants to change the law to make it more difficult for women to get an abortion, 43 percent of those polled said they would vote for a candidate who backs the current law. Thirty-nine percent said they would vote for a candidate wanting to change the law. Eighteen percent were undecided.

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